The present invention relates generally to devices and apparatuses for launching projectiles, such as paintballs. These devices are commonly called paintball guns or paintball markers. The present invention, more specifically, relates to the bolt and valve mechanism in such devices and apparatuses that are employed for preparing the gas behind the projectile and then releasing the gas for launch of the projectile. For ease of discussion and illustration, the present invention will be discussed in connection with launching a paintball, as an example projectile, and a paintball marker as an example of a device that incorporates the mechanism of the present invention. However, it should be understood that this invention relates to and can be used in any type of gas projectile launcher for launching any type of projectile.
In the prior art, gas powered guns or markers are well known in the art. In general, these devices include a supply of gas that fills a chamber, which is then emptied to launch a projectile, namely, a paintball. Valving is typically provided in the marker to control the flow of gas therein. In the prior art, various types of bolts and valving can be employed. For example, electrically operated solenoid valves and mechanical valves have been employed for this purpose. One example of such a mechanical valve used in paintball markers is a “spool” valve. These are so well known that they need not be discussed in detail herein. These spool valves are very common for use in connection with paintball markers.
Gas within a marker not only provides power for launching a projectile but also is commonly used to control loading and launching of the projectile. In other words, gas can also be used to control bolt movement within a marker to, in turn, control position of a paintball. There are number of prior art patents that use this concept. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,035,843 and 5,613,483 both use the existing gas supply for bolt control. The gas pneumatically actuates the bolt back and forth, as desired. Also, springs can be used for actuation of the bolt in certain directions. In these sample prior art systems, a unitary bolt construction is used for the dual purpose of controlling flow of gas to a storage chamber to serve as the power to launch the projectile and as well as serving as a conventional bolt that moves the projectile to a launch position while preventing additional projectiles from entering the breech.
Essentially, prior art bolt unitary constructions typically have a standard bolt at one end and a gas control at the opposing end so that its actuation back and forth can be pneumatically controlled. The bolt reciprocates back and forth within the marker. With the appropriate timing, gas fills the appropriate chamber with the bolt assembly when the bolt construction is rearwardly positioned. When the bolt moves forward, the paintball is moved forward into a launching position. This forward motion causes the appropriate passageways within the marker so that the stored gas is released behind the paintball for launching thereof.
As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, two examples of such prior art projectile launching devices are shown. More specifically, the prior art bolt and air release mechanisms are shown to illustrate the preparation and use of gas to launch a paintball. These existing prior art paintball markers typically have linear reciprocating bolt mechanisms. These prior art markers always have an empty volume within the marker that is situated between the back of the paintball and the air release valve. The air release valve is the device that releases the blast of gas that is used to propel the paintball.
Referring first to FIG. 1, a prior art paintball marker 10 includes an outer housing 12 with a barrel 14 connected thereto with a breech 16 for receiving a paintball 18, via a feed tube 19, from a hopper (not shown) or the like. A sliding bolt 20 is provided inside the housing 12. The first portion 20a of the bolt 20 communicates with the paintball 18 to be launched while the second portion 20b of the bolt 20 communicates with an o-ring 26 to form of a poppet valve. In this case, the second portion 20b of the bolt 20 provides an airtight seal to secure a firing gas chamber 24. Gas is supplied, in the typical fashion and using known constructions, such as solenoid valves and the like (not shown), to the chamber 24 behind the seal. As the bolt 20 moves forward, the paintball 18 is moved into the launch position in the barrel 14, as indicated by the arrows inside the bolt. With further forward movement of the bolt 20, the second portion 20b of the bolt 20 separates from o-ring 26 at region 20c to break the seal 26 therebetween. This permits gas in chamber 24 to fill the empty chamber 28 inside the bolt 20 to, in turn, launch the paintball 18. For this prior art configuration, filling chamber 28 for each firing cycle requires substantial amounts of additional gas.
Similarly, in FIG. 2, this prior art paintball marker 50 includes an outer housing 52 with a barrel 54 connected thereto with a breech 56 for receiving a paintball 58 from a hopper (not shown) or the like. A sliding bolt 60 is provided inside the housing 52. The front end 60a of the bolt 60 communicates with the paintball 58 to be launched while the rear end 60b of the bolt 60 communicates with a gas release member 62 to form of a poppet valve. In this case, the valve interconnection between the bolt 60 and the gas release member 62 is of a slightly different configuration where the free front end 62a of the gas release member 62 slidably engages with the inner surface 60c of the bolt 60. The rear opening 60d of the bolt 60 still provides an airtight seal with the gas release member 62 via an o-ring 64, for example. Gas is supplied, in the typical fashion, as above, and using known constructions, such as solenoid valves and the like (not shown), to the chamber 66 behind the seal between the gas release member 62 and the bolt 60. As the bolt 60 moves forward, the paintball 58 is moved into the launch position in the barrel 54, as indicated by the arrows inside the bolt. The gas release member 62 separates from the rear end 60b of the bolt 60 to open the seal therebetween thereby permitting release of the gas trapped in the chamber 66 to fill the empty chamber 68 inside the bolt 60 to, in turn, launch the paintball 58. For this prior art configuration, filling chamber 68 for each firing cycle requires substantial amounts of additional gas.
In both of these example prior art devices, in FIGS. 1 and 2, a large chamber behind the paintball and within the bolt must be filled prior to a paintball launch with air released from the firing chamber, behind the seal, for later complete evacuation such launch. In these prior art bolt and valve constructions, gas is wasted during every shot by having to fill this empty chamber volume in the bolt from the air released from the firing chamber during every shot. This volume is not an inconsiderable amount and having to fill it every shot has a detrimental effect on the overall efficiency of the marker thereby drawing gas from the cylinder faster than necessary. It is highly desirable to avoid such wasted gas.
While these prior bolt constructions effectively control gas flow and launching of a paintball, they suffer from many disadvantages that result from inefficiencies in the flow and use of gas within a marker. This is of high concern because paintball is played with paintball markers that operate off compressed air or compressed carbon dioxide. The presence or amount remaining of a source of gas is, therefore, of concern for operation of these markers. These gases are typically carried in compressed gas cylinders that are either mounted directly to the paintball marker, or to the paintball player who carries the cylinder on their person, and the gases are transferred to the marker via a length of hose. In either case it is beneficial to use as small a cylinder as is possible as the weight of the cylinder is an unwanted hindrance to the player as it is heavy and bulky. In order to have a small cylinder, and still be able to fire a high quantity of paintballs, it is essential that the paintball marker is as gas efficient as possible. The more efficient a marker is, the smaller the compressed gas tank can be.
Therefore, it is envisioned that if this wasteful empty volume, located behind the paintball and, typically, inside the bolt, could be eliminated from the design of a paintball marker, it has the potential to significantly increase the efficiency of the marker, allowing more shots from a given cylinder size, or the use of smaller cylinders to be able to shoot the same number of shots.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need to make a marker more efficient in its use of gas. There is also a need for a marker to use less gas for each paintball launch. There is a further need for a marker that requires smaller gas cylinders to provide operational gas. There is a need for a marker that has an improved bolt and valve mechanism that enables more paintballs to be launched from a given cylinder of gas than prior art markers.